Blood Rose
by XxLostInTheMusicxX
Summary: With a haunting enemy hunting her down, Emily Grace doesn't know where to go until Clint Barton, who has been acting as an older brother figure for the majority of her life, takes her to Director Fury. After that, her whole life changes and she becomes Blood Rose, an Avenger. And Steve just can't seem to stop looking at her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"_Mama, Mama, I've come home to you and Papa!" a small eight year old proclaimed to her mother, as the girl had just found her parents for the first time in her life._

_ "Baby, hide in the closet! Go, now!" A strikingly beautiful woman was gently nudging the girl inside a hidden closet. Just then, a muscled man in all black, with a strange emblem of an "E" and a "V" intertwining, stalked into the room as she shut the door, unnoticed by the man, and grabbed her._

_ "Alex!" the woman shouted, "They're here! Et elle aussi!" Her voice sounded desperate, but for what, the girl couldn't figure out. Suddenly a grungy-looking man came bursting through the door, his brown hair awry as he franticly scanned the room for that small crack through which he could see his young daughter. _

_ "Jamie," the man, Alex, said, as he moved to stand next to his wife and in front of their hidden daughter, never letting his sight stray from the mysterious man, who was now advancing quickly. Though Alex and Jamie tried to defend themselves, this man was trained way past their expertise. The young girl stood shaking violently as she watched the man's knife pierce her father's chest as his scream pierced the silent night. Then the poor girl watched as the man proceeded to tie up her mother and set a gun to her head…the girl shut her eyes…BANG! Then a small thud as her mother's body fell lifelessly to the ground. The man chuckled a deep, throaty chuckle as he sauntered to stand next to Alex._

_ "Never forget, Alex Grace, that Ero Vere will always be watching. And that I, Jacque Valjean, was the cause of the mighty Alex Grace's downfall." The man, Jacque, had a slight French accent but what caught the girl's attention was the ugly scar that was etched across his right eye all the way down to underneath his lip. He viciously stomped on Alex's bleeding chest, spat on him, and walked out of the house. Once the girl heard the sound of a car engine become fainter and fainter, she came out of the closet, approached her father, and sat next to him. Just by looking at her battered father, lying stiffly in a pool of blood, she knew no matter what she did, he would die._

_ "Papa? Papa please don't die, I only just met you. I-I-I need you Papa! I need you now and forever!" the little girl begged as tears rapidly ran down her face and into his now blood red shirt in which she buried her face. Suddenly Alex gave a choking cough followed by another bloody one as he slowly opened his eyes for the last time._

_ "Be strong, Emily! Always stay strong and never give up no matter what! I love you my sweet Emily Grace, my dear rose!" Alex's voice echoed in the young girl's mind as his last words escaped his mouth. With all of his remaining strength, he reached up to cup her small face in his hands and wiped away her tears. Finally with a weak smile, his head relaxed and arm fell as the light left his eyes. The silence was deafening. _

_ "Papa? Papa? PAPA! No! Please don't leave me, Papa! I need you! I need you so badly, Papa! Please don't leave! Please!" the girl begged as a waterfall of tears cascaded down her face, mixing with the blood of her father, now dead._

"Noooooo!" Emily shot up, drenched in a cold sweat, the memory of her parents' deaths still haunting her after eleven years, even though she killed Jacque Valjean years ago. It was pitch black in her room and she couldn't see a thing, but she heard her door open and footsteps rush towards her. She was on the verge of tears as she felt the familiar strong arms encircle her in a comforting hug. She burst into tears as she numbly wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Shhh, it's ok, shhh," Clint whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair in a comforting manner.

"I had just met him, just met him and that bastard took him away from me! It's not fair! It's just not fair, Clint!" Emily cried into him, speaking in a whisper. "And I'm constantly afraid that he's going to find me and-and hurt me."

"I know, I know, but think of it, now Valjean's dead and he—"

"Don't say his name!" she shrieked. "Please don't say that damned name!"

"Sorry, now…He is dead and can never, _ever _harm you. And if he even comes close, I won't let him. As long as I'm here, you'll always be safe."

"He's not the only problem, Clint, it's James…I fear he's looking for me, and when James looks for someone, he always, _always _finds them. And what he'd do to me? Oh gosh, Clint, for the second time in my life, I'm _afraid_, so afraid of him."

Clint sighed, now fully realizing why the girl who never cried was sobbing. It was all because of her adopted brother, the only person who could ever overpower Emily and hurt her, and because of that, she was terrified to the bone of him.

Every time James' name was mentioned, Emily would stiffen up and get a far-away look in her eyes, and that hurt Clint deeply, not because he had romantic feelings for the girl, but he cared deeply for her; she was like a twin sister to him, they were that close.

"Emily, I swear to you, I will never let that man come near you and if he dares to, he will regret it," he whispered in her ear as he held her tighter, "I swear. Now lie down and go back to sleep; everything will be alright."

"Thanks Clint," she said as she kissed his cheek and laidback down in her bed, very much comforted by Clint's promise. Clint smiled as he turned away to leave, but turned back when he felt a small hand grab his wrist.

"Will you stay with me tonight please? I don't wanna be alone…" Emily asked a pleading look in her eyes. Being as he had jumped out of bed himself to comfort Emily, he was already wearing what he sleeps in: boxers and no shirt, so Clint sighed as he walked to the other side of the bed and laid down next to her, covering both of them with the blankets.

"Goodnight Emily," Clint said before he drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

Emily woke up to a small sliver of sunlight shining on her face as she stretched out and found that Clint wasn't there. _He must be making breakfast_, Emily thought as she wrapped herself up in the blanket and headed downstairs. As she stood in the doorway to the kitchen, she smelled eggs and heard Clint softly humming, which made her giggle, ruining her stealthy entrance. Clint looked up from his eggs at her, a slight blush on his cheeks from being found humming.

"Oh sit down and quit giggling, or else," Clint said, not very menacing in only a pair of guys athletic shorts.

"Or else what?" Emily challenged.

"Or else I'll burn your eggs."

"No! Not the eggs! Please, anything but the eggs!" Emily teased.

"Fine, since I'm feeling unusually merciful, I won't burn your eggs…but they are ready," Clint said as he set down a plate of delicious eggs in front of her. She inhaled deeply and dug in. After a fun breakfast that resolved in bits of egg being thrown at each other, Emily left to shower, and get ready for the day, wondering what she could do with her time. It was a relaxed day, seeing as her company had no missions for her today, unlike Clint who had a job with S.H.I.E.L.D as a dead-shot assassin, so she changed into teal shorts and a red and white _Coca-Cola _tee.

Though as she was brushing her hair, the brush got snagged on her necklace, which she forgot she had on. She fingered it and sat down, realizing that it was the gold heart-shaped locket embedded with a rose that her father gave her when she was born, since she was as beautiful as a rose; that eventually became her nickname. She opened it for the first time in years to see a picture of her parents holding a beautiful baby on one side and on the other was the quote _"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."_ As she stared at it, she felt sad yet hopeful and happy at the same time. Sad, because her parents weren't there to watch her grow up and live life, but hopeful and happy because they loved her enough to give her the locket with a quote to keep her going and a picture to remind her what for. She heard CIint shout a "goodbye" and the door slam, signaling he had left for "work". She grabbed her bag and went outside their mini mansion and hopped in her yellow Jeep Wrangler, a destination finally in mind.

The dance studio. Or better called _her _dance studio. After saving for years, Emily finally bought her own dance studio a couple of years back and seeing as she graduated college early with a Master's in dance from Juilliard, it seemed an appropriate buy.

After her parents' deaths, Emily ran away from the orphanage she stayed at until she was eight, to submerse herself in mixed martial arts and weaponry. To pass the time, she also danced, sang, and played various instruments, though her favorite would always be the piano. Once she turned thirteen, she learned that her father was the founder and CEO of the infamous Grace Industries, a company that owned nearly half of all minor companies, created new technologies, and rivaled the as-infamous Stark Industries. Since her father was dead, that made her the new CEO of the entire company, not to mention she was then finishing up her final year of earning a Master's in business from Harvard, as well as a Master's in engineering from Harvard, and a Master's in dance, music, and singing from Juilliard. So Emily was a very gifted girl with smarts that exceeded the infamous Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, and she was very, very, _very _rich indeed.

Emily was currently dancing a newly choreographed modern dance to Uprising by Muse and was getting so immersed in her dancing that she never noticed Clint sneak in to watch her until he turned the music off and said hi, making her jump.

"Clint!" she gasped, "never, ever do that again! Geez, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Clint just chuckled and handed her a cold water bottle which she gladly accepted. Suddenly conscience that she was wearing only tight, black boy-shorts and a tight, black tank, Emily slipped on an off-the-shoulder shirt and yoga pants.

"So why are you here? Not to be rude or anything…" Emily asked as she took a much-needed drink of water.

"Director Fury told me to bring you in, he never mentioned why though." _Hmmm, why would Fury need me when I'm not even part of S.H.I.E.L.D? _ Emily thought.

"Ok, I guess I have no choice but to come."

"Good because I didn't want to have had to take you in by force," Clint said with a smile.

When they arrived on a huge aircraft carrier Emily ran out of the helicopter, she was never one for heights. Clint met up with some agents who then escorted both of them into what seemed to be the main control room. In front of her was a horse-shoed table with seven chairs around it and a pedestal where the circle didn't fully connect. There were five people already in the chairs, in order there was a woman with short, red hair who looked like someone not to be messed with, two empty seats, a strikingly handsome blond man with amazing blue eyes that looked a little out-of-date, a man with black hair who looked very cautious and maybe even a little afraid of something, another blonde man with longer hair who was wearing a strange armor and looked very…regal, and a man with messy black hair wearing a Black Sabbath tee shirt with a weird glowing circle under it. The man at the pedestal was black and wore a long, black trench coat with more black clothing underneath, he also wore an eye-patch over his left eye; he looked in-charge and stern. She was most surprised when Clint took a seat at the table and when Patchy nodded at her to sit down as well.

As she sat down in a seat between Clint and the handsome blonde, Patchy started to talk.

"Ms. Grace, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D—" Fury started.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Grace? As in Grace Industries, Grace? As in the eighteen year old Emily Grace who is currently rivaling my company, Grace?" the Black Sabbath-glowing circle guy said in awe.

"Nineteen actually, about to be twenty. And yep, that's me. Emily Grace, proud CEO of Grace Ind. which is actually currently beating Stark Ind. I assume you're Tony Stark himself then, judging by your reaction and glowy-thingy." Emily answered. Tony mumbled an incoherent minor insult and sulked in his chair as everyone else snickered and a behind-the-hand 'pwned' was said, making Tony slouch even lower.

"As I was saying Mr. Stark, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters, I am Director Fury. These are the Avengers, Natasha Romanoff or Black Widow, you already know Clint Barton or Hawkeye, Steve Rodgers or Captain America, Dr. Bruce Banner or the Hulk, Thor, and Tony Stark or Iron Man. As for why you're here, I would like you to join the Avengers." Patchy, or Fury, was very to-the-point when he talked and never smiled or showed a hint of emotion. As for the offer, Emily was shocked, and so was everyone else apparently, since they were all looking at Fury as if he were crazy.

"Director Fury you can't let her join, she'll be killed!" Clint said, being ever-so the protective "brother" when it came to Emily being put into harm's way. She sighed.

"Ok, first of all Clint, I can and have fought before, and, hang on…yep, I'm still alive. So don't even hint that I can't take care of myself ever again. And secondly, sure, what the heck, I'll join your little 'superhero' group," Emily said, leaning back in her chair.

"I'm thrilled. Do you have an alias you'd like to be called?" Fury said, with no hint of thrill in his voice or face.

"Hmmm, Blood Rose. Since my dad's nickname for me was Rose and his blood has stained me forever." Emily said. Fury looked at her approvingly.

"Welcome to the Avengers Rose."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Emily smiled and leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head in a very relaxed manner.

"Emily…what the heck is that?!" Natasha asked, leaning forward and pointing to her right arm. Emily looked where she was pointing and saw that she let her sleeve slip down past her wrist, showing an articulate but simple black dragon tattoo that spiraled down her arm, ending with its head at the bottom of her wrist.

"Ya know, I don't fully know myself. I've had it since I can remember and all I know is that once, when I got really mad, it glowed funnily." Emily answered, pulling up her sleeve so everyone could see it all.

"Huh, you got any other tattoos or rebellious 'marks' I never knew about? Well, besides your wrist and ankle tattoos." Clint asked, grabbing her arm and pulling it across her so he could see it better.

"Maaaaybeee," Emily answered, dragging out the vowels. Clint just looked at her.

"You better tell me. I will find out."

"Well, come by my room later and I'll show you," Emily said as she winked at him and got up to check out her room. She heard Clint chuckle and knew he got it, with being oh-so close, Emily and Clint always joked about being "lovers" and calling each other "baby" or "sexy" or saying provocative comments like what Emily just said. It was just a joke. Always. When she reached her room, Emily immediately closed the door and flopped on the bed, before she knew it, she was asleep.

Emily jolted awake at the sound of knocking coming from her door._ Whoever's knocking is gonna get it, and maaaan they're gonna get it bad._ Emily thought to herself. She opened the door to find Clint.

"Of course it would be you who would wake me up."

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your beauty sleep, God knows you need it." Emily then proceeded to playfully punch him in the arm and went over to sit on her bed. Clint followed, closing the door behind him.

"Fury told me to get you, he said for you to be down there ASAP." Clint said as he turned to leave.

"Damn Fury, an hour at the job and I'm already getting missions."

"Get used to it sweetheart," Clint said chuckling.

"Director Fury," Emily greeted, "Clint told me you wanted to see me." Fury turned away from a monitor to look at the girl, standing there with her hip jutted out.

"Yes, I want you to go and recruit your friends, Sarah Mason and Evelyn Fink. Next to you they're two of the smartest people in the US and we can use all the brains we can. I will give you two days and if you're not back by then we will _all _come find you and, if needed, drag you out. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir." Emily said sarcastically and lazily saluted him. On the inside she was bursting with joy at getting to see her best friends again. She rushed to her room to pack, and then borrowed a jet to go recruit Sarah and Evey. She arrived in the local town very late at night and decided to rent a room in a hotel for the night since the ride to the town took nearly a whole day, which left her with only one day to recruit them.

"EMILY!" Emily looked toward the source of the shout to see her best friend running down the driveway, her long, brown, wavy hair flowing behind her.

"SARAH!" Emily shouted back as she jumped out of her car to run into a bear hug with her friend.

"Ah, I've missed you so much! Look at you! You dyed the tips of your hair blood red!" Sarah said.

"I know! I've missed you too! And yeah, do you like it?"

"No, I don't like it at all…I love it!" Sarah and Emily laughed as the started walking inside Sarah's small house she shared with the trio's third member, Evelyn Fink, or Evey, as she likes to be called.

"Eve! You'll never guess who's here!" Sarah shouted upstairs to her friend.

"Who? Aw, never mind, I'm coming." A voice shouted back down. Then Emily heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned to see her other best friend.

"Emily! Wow, you look different! Wait, it's just the hair, isn't it?" Evey said.

"Yep, and I see you changed your hair too! Now going for the platinum blonde bob look?" Emily teased, hugging her friend.

"Yeah, you know me, once a blonde, always a blonde," Evey said, winking at Emily. The three of them walked into the kitchen and sat down to eat since Sarah had just made lunch which turned out to be their all-time favorite food, mac 'n cheese.

"So Em, what brings you to our humble abode?" Evey asked.

"Well, I'm now an Avenger-long story-and my boss, Fury, asked me to recruit you guys into S.H.I.E.L.D since you're so smart," Emily answered. Eve and Sarah looked at each other first, then both at Emily.

"Fine, but on one condition," Sarah started, "you have to have fun and party with us tomorrow since we haven't hung out in forever." Emily pondered this condition for a short while before answering.

"You guys drive a hard bargain, but I guess I have no other choice than to say yes." Emily finally said, a little bit of sarcasm hinting in her voice.

"Great! It's a club called The Zip at eight 'o clock tomorrow, be there or be square!" Eve said, as the girls finished their meal. Afterwards they hung out together and talked until they realized it was already one in the morning, then they decided to part ways, and sleep.

"Emily has over run her two day limit on this mission and is not answering her phone, so there is no contact to her," Fury said, debriefing the other Avengers on Emily's circumstance.

"Shouldn't we go look for her? She might be in trouble and we are very near to the town she's at," Steve said, a hint of worry and concern in his voice.

"Yes, that's why I called you all here. I've decided to send Stark, Barton, and Rodgers down to find her and bring her back, drag her back of you have to. Understood?" Three 'yes's were responded to Fury and everyone split up, Tony, Clint, and Steve all headed to a jet. By the time they had arrived in the town, it was getting close to midnight. They didn't find Emily, nor her friends, at their house, but after asking around they found out about the party at The Zip, so they decided to check there. Needless to say, the three Avengers were more than surprised at what they saw when they entered the club. The club itself was dark, only lighted by multiple neon lights swerving through the crowd, which was all in a cluster on the dance floor, drinks everywhere. But what shocked them the most was the person right in front of them, on the edge of the lit-up dance floor. It was Emily, and she was wearing a _very _short, _very _revealing, and _very _tight red cocktail dress, with a beer in one hand. The other hand was resting on the hand of a man she was grinding a little too dirty for their taste with that was slowing going up and down her thigh and his other was wrapped around her waist with the hand again a little too low for their liking. But to the Avengers' horror, she looked to be having the time of her life. Tony went up, grabbed her arm, and dragged her over, completely ignoring the protests of her dancing partner.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Clint shouted, barely hearing his own voice above the pounding music.

"Well I was havin' some fun," Emily slurred. That was obviously not her first beer. Just then Sarah came up and put her hand on Clint's shoulder to calm him down.

"Relax, she didn't come here to blow you guys off, she came because we told her we'd come with her if she had fun and partied with us for a night," Sarah explained.

"She's drunk, isn't she," Tony asked, more like stated.

"We agreed beforehand that I would be their designated driver," Sarah said.

In the middle of their talking though, no one noticed that Emily escaped and went to get yet another beer and continue dancing. This partner, however, wanted to do a little more than just dance, and Emily didn't want to. Steve noticed this and walked over to where they were.

"Excuse me sir, but I don't think this lady wants to go that far with you," Steve said as he gently grabbed Emily by the arm and started to drag her away until he was stopped by the man turning him and punching him square in the jaw. Steve fell and let go of Emily who gasped and immediately lost her drunkenness to bend down and help Steve up. The man wasn't having any of it though, and knowing that he was drunk past all consciousness didn't help at all. He attempted to punch Steve again, but he grabbed the man's incoming fist and punched him back. Next thing anyone knew, fists were flying everywhere, and a full-out club fight had started. Tony, worrying about Emily turned towards her just in time to watch her get accidently punched so hard she blacked out and fell back into Tony's arms. Tony carried her bridal-style out of the club to meet up with Clint who was already outside with Sarah and Evey. Steve soon came stumbling out, multiple bruises and cuts adoring his face and arms.

They let Sarah and Evey grab their things from their house and the group took off back to HQ, not a single word being said the entire time.  
* * * *

Emily heard voices. She had just woken up and her eyes were still closed, but she heard them. Heck, who couldn't? They were screaming very loudly.

"Ugh, will someone get me some milk, tacos, and four asprin? And quit yelling, it's too loud," Emily complained, just wanting this hangover to end. She felt the spot next to her on the bed collapse as someone sat down. It was Tony, looking a little worried. Emily looked over him to see the entire Avengers team crowded into her tiny room, though Clint and Steve were standing by the door and away from her, both never making eye contact with anything but the floor. Tony ushered everyone else outside the room and he closed the door, walking back over to the bed and sitting down next to her.

"You had us all worried there, that guy punched you pretty hard and he got you right in the temple. Clint and Steve have been worried about you most though," Tony said. "Steve even refused to get looked at or sleep, all he wanted to do was be with you. He got banged up pretty bad and won't let anyone help." Emily sighed.

"Why are you all so worried about me? You barely know me," she questioned.

"Probably because Clint talks about you nonstop and we all practically know you through him. Though I guess you don't know us hardly at all. But I can tell you that Steve definitely has taken a liking to you with all the stories and pictures from Clint."  
"Oh, and how would _you _know? Been stalking him lately, Tony?" Emily said teasingly.

"Every day, doll," Tony winked, "but I may have overheard him saying something…"

"Hmm, so Steve likes me…I guess it's a good thing I like him back, huh? Well I guess I should go talk to him, thanks Tony." She got up to leave.

"Oh and sweetheart, if you ever want to party, I'd be more than willing to help you out," Tony said, winking at her. She rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well Tony's "Playboy" personality; she was, after all, an ex-Playboy bunny. But like hell would anyone ever find out besides Clint, who already knew and would tease her multiple times.

She walked out of the room and turned down the hall to go eat first and then find Steve and talk to him. As she was eating her tacos and drinking milk, Sarah and Evey walked in.

"Really, Em? Tacos and _milk, _for _breakfast?_ That's a bad combo," Sarah said.

"Tacos and milk are hangover food, Sarah. You'd know if you ever got drunk enough to have a hangover," Evey replied, sticking her tongue out at Sarah.

"Yeah, welwe Sarwa," Emily said with her mouth full of food. "And asprin helps a ton too, just an FYI." The three friends laughed and reminisced about last night's party, then Emily left to find Steve. As she was walking down the hall with everyone's rooms, she spied an open door and heard the familiar sound of Steve's voice echoing out of it. She walked to the door and opened it a bit more to she Steve standing shirtless in his bathroom, looking into the mirror trying to clean off a nasty cut on his forehead.

"Here, let me help you," Emily said as she walked in and towards Steve.

"It's fine ma'am. I've got it." He replied, not even turning to look at her. Then he winced and gave a short yelp as he touched the cut wrong. Emily shook her head with a smile on her face and grabbed the towel out of his hands.

"Sit down on the toilet seat," she said as she got the towel wet and took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, some cotton balls, and a box of Band-Aids. When she turned around though, he was still standing, so she gently pushed him down.

"Now stay there and hold still, this is going to sting." She wetted a cotton ball with a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol and started to gently clean the cut. Steve winced and pulled away, starting to get up and protest about 'him doing it himself.' Emily, yet again, pushed him down, but this time sat on his lap, straddling him, to keep him from even attempting to get up again.

"I'm only doing this to keep you down. Now I know this is going to hurt a lot, but it's deep and needs to be cleaned first so quit protesting!" Steve shut up immediately. Emily leaned forward and cleaned the cut, Steve wincing only at first before getting lost in her beautiful baby-blue eyes and thinking of cute she looked when she was concentrating on something.

"So why'd you do it? Why did you punch the guy?"

"He wasn't treating you how you deserve to be treated, and he wouldn't stop when you asked him to."

"I was fine. I can handle myself next time, thank you very much."

"Oh yeah, it looked like you were handling the situation just fine."

"For your information I was..." She trailed off as she finished applying the bandage and looked down, getting caught in his gaze, the both of them realizing how very few inches separated their faces.

"Fine, but I'll never let another man touch you or treat you like that ever again…"

Steve started to lean in and Emily closed her eyes, her heartbeat picking up pace as his soft lips pressed against hers and she kissed him back immediately. His arms wrapped around her waist as hers traveled up his chest to have one hand rest on his shoulder and the other get tangled in his hair, pulling him closer to her. His tongue glided across her bottom lip, asking for entrance but she decided to play hard-to-get and keep her mouth closed firmly, smiling slightly into the kiss. He bit her bottom lip and she gasped, giving him a chance to slip his tongue in, which he took. His hands slid lower to rest on her hips as the kiss deepened. Suddenly Emily pulled apart and looked into his eyes, biting her lip. Just that picture of her made Steve shiver and want her even more.

"I-I should go…" Emily said as she started to get up, but was stopped when she felt a hand grab her wrist and turn her around so her back was touching the door. His arms were on both sides of her head, and she looked down, a slight blush on her cheeks at the events that just happened. With his right arm still in front of her, preventing her from leaving, he put a finger under her chin and tilted her head so she had no other choice but to look up at him, since he towered over her at least a good couple of inches, and look him in the eyes. And they both melted, captivated by each other's gaze.

"Don't leave me. Ever." Steve said, and Emily just nodded, to in a trance by his eyes. He leaned down and kissed her again, this time not getting a fight when he asked for entrance. The kiss grew more passionate and he lifted her up and held her against the door, her legs wrapping around his waist naturally as his hands slid barely up her shirt. Clint, who had seen everything since they forgot to close the door, was furious and bounded inside and separated them, despite their protests. He grabbed Emily by her upper arm and started dragging her out. Emily struggled against him but Clint was stronger and taller, giving her very little chance of escape. She looked back at Steve, a slight blush and an apologetic look in her eyes as she mouthed 'I'll come back later' and he nodded, a smile on his face that he was able to make her blush like that.

Clint dragged her to her own room where he threw her on the bed gently. He looked at her for a while, taking in her flushed face, bruised lips, slight blush, messed up hair, and dreamy look. His instincts as a brother were going mad at how his little sister kissed, if you could even call that kissing, a man.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey guys! Sorry this is so short but I didn't want you thinking I didn't care about you. Which I do. Hence the short chapter at 1:30 am.:) This chapter mainly looks on Clint and Emily's brother-sister relationship and, I have to admit, I'm having TONS of fun writing sweet, brotherly Clint xD Aaaanyyy whooo, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Clint dragged her to her own room where he threw her on the bed gently. He looked at her for a while, taking in her flushed face, bruised lips, slight blush, messed up hair, and dreamy look. His instincts as a brother were going mad at how his little sister kissed, if you could even call that kissing, a man.

"What the hell was that?" he asked. Well, more like demanded.

"It was a kiss. I'm sure you've done it plenty of times so don't even start lecturing me about it!"

"That was not a kiss! That was more like…like…like sucking face!"

"It was not sucking face, quit being such a drama queen, Clint."

"Oh yes it was! You've been doing things I don't approve of and you're not going to repeat any of it again!" That last comment made her mad. Like hell was she gonna sit there and be told what not to do by her brother. He can be overprotective sometimes but this is crossing the line.

"You can't tell me what to do. I am nineteen and perfectly capable of taking care of myself," She said as she stood up, trying her hardest to look intimidating. "If I want to kiss Steve, then I will. If I want to join the Avengers, I will. And if I want to go out and get drunk, by God I will. You can try to stop me all you want, but I refuse to let someone else control my life while I sit helpless!" by this point she was shouting, infuriated that Clint was actually trying to stop her. She wasn't a child anymore and could do anything she wanted without him!

But her comment had added mad onto pissed, making him royally pissed that she thought she could do anything. And anything _without _him. When he found her at eight years old in an alley, and decided to take her in, that was when she became his responsibility. That's when she became his sister. And that was when he became fiercely overprotective of her.

* * *

_Fourteen year old Clint Barton was on his way back to the carnival after running a few errands for food. Since he took the back way home, he realized that he had to pass an alley that all the kids stayed away from, since it was dark and looked dangerous. As Clint neared the alley, he started to move to the far side of the sidewalk when he heard a noise coming from inside the alley. It sounded like a little sneeze but it was so soft, he wasn't even sure he heard it. But it sounded again, this time a little louder. Curious, he walked towards the sound until he came upon a small girl who looked to be about eight, cuddled in a torn blanket and shivering in the crisp February air._

"_Uh, hi," Clint said. She looked up at him and he was able to get a good look at her. She was thin but cute with long brunette hair flowing down to just under her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a beautiful deep blue and held a natural curiosity in them. She was very lightly tanned, though Clint guessed that was her natural skin tone and she was shivering from the cold. Just then a burst of cool air blew by, making the girl pull the torn blanket tighter around her small frame and sink into it. _

"_H-hi," she said, her voice sweet like bells, though small. "I'm Emily Grace. Who are you?"_

"_I'm Clint Barton. Where's your parents?" _

"_They-they died." She looked down, her eyes misting lightly though no tears threatened to spill. At that point Clint decided that he would offer the girl a home with warmth and a family to love her. A safe home with him._

"_Well Emily, would you…ah, do you…hmm, if you want, you can stay with me instead of stay out here in the cold where something could happen to you." He offered, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, nervous that the girl would take offence or think differently of his offer. Thankfully she didn't. Her eyes immediately brightened as a contagious smile burst onto her face._

"_I would love to! If-if that's ok with your parents…"_

"_Nah, they're dead too. I live with a carnival but it's better than nothin'." He said, grinning down at her. He grasped her upper arm gently and helped her up, seeing as she didn't want to free a hand by letting go of the blanket. _

"_Then we'll be alone together." She decided, a done-and-set look on her face as she nodded up at him, seeing as he was taller than her by many inches. Clint chuckled and wrapped an arm around her still shivering shoulders, his hand rubbing up and down her arm in a small attempt to help warm her as they started walking._

"_Stick with me and we'll be alone together forever." She smiled up at him, her eyes shining with admiration and saw him in a new light, a brotherly light. She liked the look._

"_Yeah, alone together forever." _

_ Thought he'd never tell, it was then that he silently promised her parents that he'd never let anything happen to her, and that he'd always protect her. Always._

* * *

Clint sighed, remembering fondly. There was no way he could stay mad at her, and he knew the same went for her. He put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down on the bed, despite her objections.

"Emily, we're both pissed off right now. We both need to be alone and settle down, then we'll talk." Clint started walking towards the door before turning around again. When he did he saw the familiar stubbornness and understanding that he's grown to love reflecting through her eyes, though her body remained more relaxed.

"Alone together forever," he said before turning to leave.

"Alone together forever," she repeated, leaving matching smiles on both their faces.

* * *

**A/N...again! I also want to give a big shout out to Tayler Snape13 and NotoriousNat for absolutly making my day and giving me the inspiration to write this! Though you all are contributors;) Gosh! I cannot type today! I keep misspelling things and hitting wrong letters! Darn it! .**


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